Personal Tax Accounts to offer faster, direct tax repayments

UK taxpayers who have overpaid tax can now opt to receive their refunds directly from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to their digital Personal Tax Account, removing the need for trips to the bank or waiting for cheques to clear.

HMRC confirmed this week that its new online tax refund service will be available to customers who opt in to use their Personal Tax Account, with any overpaid tax able to be returned directly to their bank account within three to five working days.

Ruth Owen, director general of customer service, HMRC, believes the new service offers real convenience for taxpayers.

“This new service puts customers in control of their tax affairs, allowing them to claim any money owing to them immediately,” said Owen.

“They can claim at a time that suits them, from a device of their choice, securely, and without needing to wait for a cheque in the post.

“Now customers will have access to funds cleared in their account within 3-5 days rather than the two weeks it would typically take for a cheque to be issued, banked and cleared.”

Personal Tax Account benefits

Online tax refunds are just one of 34 fast, simple services taxpayers can take advantage of through their Personal Tax Account, which would have normally required a letter or telephone call to the tax authority.

Some of the services customers can utilise through their Personal Tax Account include:

• Viewing and updating personal details
• Checking tax calculations
• Viewing progress of forms sent to HMRC
• Check expected state pension levels
• Discover Marriage Allowance entitlement and claim online
• View tax credits payments and report changes in circumstances

In order to set up and access your Personal Tax Account you will need to set up a Government Gateway account for which you will require:

• Your National Insurance number
• A recent payslip or P60 (though a passport can be used if you don’t have either of these)
• A telephone number to receive a one-time security code
• A bank account to notify HMRC for any tax repayments

Date published 24 Aug 2016 | Last updated 24 Aug 2016